Man Suspected Of Miami Explosion Has Record Of Gas Theft
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The man that Miami Police have identified who is suspected of causing an explosion at a gas station on Friday has previously been arrested for stealing gasoline.
Police say 46-year-old Onelio Castro has tried to steal large amounts of gasoline before.
He was arrested on Friday on charges of grand theft, petit theft, criminal mischief and arson but bonded out of jail on Saturday, according to Miami-Dade court records. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 15.
Court records reported by Random Pixels blog and published by CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald indicate that Castro, 47, had previously been arrested in 2010 on a felony charge for possession of an illegal gasoline storage tank and also in 2009 on a misdemeanor loitering charge.
According to court records, he was convicted in the 2010 case.
Additionally, in 2012 Boca Raton Police suspected Castro of trying to steal gasoline from a Chevron station. At the time, the Sun Sentinel reported that local fire rescue workers located a Dodge Caravan that had been driven by Castro.
According to CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald, the van had a 500-gallon plastic tank and 55-gallon drum full of fuel. It also had a battery powered pump, rubber hoses and a hole in the floorboard between the driver and passenger seats.
The van had been abandoned by Castro, who fled the scene on foot.
Police were able to link the van to Castro from a cellphone that was left in the vehicle. An arrest warrant charging him with grand theft and unlawful conveyance of fuel/obtaining fuel fraudulently was issued, though the disposition of the charges in Palm Beach County is unclear.
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